Bills GM: Tyrod Taylor expects to return for Week 1

Will the Bills have their starting quarterback in uniform for the regular-season opener?

First-year general manager Brandon Beane on Thursday told the team’s radio program that he’s spoken with Tyrod Taylor, who believes he’ll return in time for Buffalo’s Week 1 tilt with the Jets, per ESPN’s Mike Rodak.

Taylor remains in the concussion protocol — along with backup T.J. Yates — after going down in Saturday’s preseason loss to the Ravens.

Beane went on to say that rookie Nathan Peterman will be ready to start if Taylor is unable to pass the league’s concussion protocol. Expanding on the fifth-round signal-caller, the Bills front-office leader gushed over Peterman as “better than I expected,” per Rodak.

“The moxie, the pocket presence, the leadership,” Beane said of the rookie, before noting that Peterman “seems to be natural” at leading a football team.

Coming off a horrible preseason, Taylor is now banged up and likely questioning his future with the Bills. Coach Sean McDermott called the quarterback “our starter” after Saturday’s loss to Baltimore. Still, the team owes Taylor just $1 million guaranteed after this season and could easily move on with Peterman or Fill-in-the-Blank.

All of that’s for another day, but Taylor remains a signal-caller with a shaky long-term scenario in Buffalo. As for Peterman, don’t expect to see much of him in Thursday night’s preseason finale against the Lions.

One other note out of Western New York: Beane was also asked about the future of Marcell Dareus, the behemoth defensive lineman who was sent home prior to the Bills game for violating a team rule.

“You know, I don’t know. … Time will tell,” Beane told WKBW-TV’s Joe Buscaglia when asked if Dareus was “on board” with the plan in Buffalo. “It was disappointing, as I said after that game. He was contrite yesterday and said the right things. Actions speak louder than words and time will tell. … We know what kind of player he can be. We hope to see that on film.”

Make no mistake: The Bills are in flux. What Beane and McDermott inherited is not what they plan to built. The deep-cutting roster alterations are far from over in Buffalo.